EternalLifeWorldMinistry
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Most of us in the West, even those who have never had a reason to go to church, are in some way familiar with the Lord’s Prayer. (Matthew 6. Vs 9-13). We have heard it somewhere: funerals, weddings, or even the movies. At some point and time in our lives, even if we just can’t remember, we’ve heard it.
Newsflash: There is a big hidden secret in the Lord’s Prayer that is crucial to our eternal-life journey.
Those of us who have attended Sunday school know this prayer by heart. It was taught as a required piece of Bible literature or studied as a model prayer by all those who have learned how to pray.
By itself, the literary value of this powerful, yet concise bible passage is nothing short of supernatural. It is not surprising that its bearer was none other than the Christ. Depending on the audience, it is as powerful as the Ten Commandments. And yet for all its other significant attributes, there is one that ranks right there with them, if not above nearly all of them. The only problem is, it has remained mostly obscured—a plainly hidden secret.
Don’t think so?
There are many practical things which have remained hidden in plain sight of us for many, many, years; even as we read. Here is a good example.
Take a good look at a FedEx truck the next time you see one. See if you can spot the gaping arrow in the logo staring right back at you in less than twenty seconds. Okay; found it. Did you know it was there all this time?
Here is another—maybe not so obscured—secret, but possibly one we have not given its fair share of attention. We’ve often used benevolence to reference God’s love for us. Not to just say he loves us, but to expressly speak of his great benevolence—his great kindness, or great gift. But what is this great kindness, or gift? Answer; ‘The gift of God is eternal life.’ This can never be understated. It is the single most important reason why we are here.
In granting us the gift of an eternal existence, God provides proof of his endless benevolence. That a being such as he, who has no beginning or an end, could so profoundly love us that he has given the gift of an endless life to us—to be just as his own self—is beyond extraordinary. Nothing could be greater.
Taken at its true value by using ourselves as reference, proves that it would take a truly special person to do something so ultimately unselfish.
And yet it is not entirely free—we’ll all have to earn it. But he has established a pathway for all those who are in pursuit of this profoundly unspeakable gift to follow. All we have to do is find it.
This takes us to the crucial but conspicuously hidden secret in the prayer given to us by his chief emissary—the Christ. ‘Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.’
If afforded its due scrutiny, it would be crucial to note that whatever was done in heaven, will point to what will ultimately be done on the earth.
From his biblical account God tells us that the angels were initially free-willed beings. With a choice to remain loyal servants to him, like many of the good angels did, and are now enjoying an eternal existence. Or forfeit their chance for an eternal existence, as was the case with the fallen angels—the demons left to roam the earth even to this day. At the time all his existing angels who had life—albeit a temporary one—had a free-willed shot at an eternal-life existence. Sounds familiar?
Here are some crucial questions we should all be asking ourselves:
Newsflash: There is a big hidden secret in the Lord’s Prayer that is crucial to our eternal-life journey.
Those of us who have attended Sunday school know this prayer by heart. It was taught as a required piece of Bible literature or studied as a model prayer by all those who have learned how to pray.
By itself, the literary value of this powerful, yet concise bible passage is nothing short of supernatural. It is not surprising that its bearer was none other than the Christ. Depending on the audience, it is as powerful as the Ten Commandments. And yet for all its other significant attributes, there is one that ranks right there with them, if not above nearly all of them. The only problem is, it has remained mostly obscured—a plainly hidden secret.
Don’t think so?
There are many practical things which have remained hidden in plain sight of us for many, many, years; even as we read. Here is a good example.
Take a good look at a FedEx truck the next time you see one. See if you can spot the gaping arrow in the logo staring right back at you in less than twenty seconds. Okay; found it. Did you know it was there all this time?
Here is another—maybe not so obscured—secret, but possibly one we have not given its fair share of attention. We’ve often used benevolence to reference God’s love for us. Not to just say he loves us, but to expressly speak of his great benevolence—his great kindness, or great gift. But what is this great kindness, or gift? Answer; ‘The gift of God is eternal life.’ This can never be understated. It is the single most important reason why we are here.
In granting us the gift of an eternal existence, God provides proof of his endless benevolence. That a being such as he, who has no beginning or an end, could so profoundly love us that he has given the gift of an endless life to us—to be just as his own self—is beyond extraordinary. Nothing could be greater.
Taken at its true value by using ourselves as reference, proves that it would take a truly special person to do something so ultimately unselfish.
And yet it is not entirely free—we’ll all have to earn it. But he has established a pathway for all those who are in pursuit of this profoundly unspeakable gift to follow. All we have to do is find it.
This takes us to the crucial but conspicuously hidden secret in the prayer given to us by his chief emissary—the Christ. ‘Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.’
If afforded its due scrutiny, it would be crucial to note that whatever was done in heaven, will point to what will ultimately be done on the earth.
From his biblical account God tells us that the angels were initially free-willed beings. With a choice to remain loyal servants to him, like many of the good angels did, and are now enjoying an eternal existence. Or forfeit their chance for an eternal existence, as was the case with the fallen angels—the demons left to roam the earth even to this day. At the time all his existing angels who had life—albeit a temporary one—had a free-willed shot at an eternal-life existence. Sounds familiar?
Here are some crucial questions we should all be asking ourselves:
- Why did God choose to tell us this heavenly account?
- That he has told us; is there a significant lesson in it for us?
- Why did the Christ remind us of it in his brilliantly crafted, yet deliberately concise prayer? Why was it so important for us to know that he included it in this popular tidbit of scripture?
- Why did God not destroy these bad angels? What purpose might they have been left to serve?
- Where are these bad angels now?
- Are they playing the same antagonist role on earth as they had done in heaven?
- Are there other examples where God may have done this—appointed an antagonist—like when he hardened Pharaoh’s heart to not let the children of Israel go?
- Are there good reasons to think very carefully about this verse in the Lord’s Prayer? Is it weighted as importantly as it should?
~The Gift of God is Eternal Life~